Solace
by Demented Koneko
Summary: When Naruto proves that he is just is strong as Sasuke, Sasukes breaks down only to receive comfort from the person who caused him the pain. [Narusasu]
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: **This is my second NaruSasu fic. Again, I apologise for the horrible summary. I hope you enjoy.

Solace

Chapter One

Despite his usual indifference to anything other than training and becoming stronger, the raven haired boy couldn't help but admire the beautiful day it had turned out to be. The sky was bright blue, the sun shone clearly and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The weather the past couple of weeks had been somewhat dreary so to Sasuke it was welcome change even though training in such warm weather proved to be disadvantageous at times. Nonetheless, he was very much looking forward to today's training. Kakashi had been absent the past two weeks, on an important A-rank mission, and while he had continued to train strenuously in his sensei's absence, he found he benefited a lot more from Kakashi's teaching than from training alone.

He took his time as he headed over to the bridge, team seven's usual meeting place. He knew he should have headed out earlier, but he wanted to get in some shuriken practice before he left. That and it didn't particularly matter if he was a little late; the thought of Kakashi arriving on time was laughable.

When the bridge came in of seeing distance, he was surprised to see his spiky blond haired team-mate already there. It was quite rare for Naruto to ever arrive before him.

"Oi! Sasuke, you're late!" his team-mate declared loudly as he strolled past him. "I was here ten minutes ago, you know!"

As he leaned against the bridge, he thought about pointing out that there was no real need to be here early when Kakashi was concerned but instead settled for his usual "Hmpf."

"You're just pissed because I got here before you!" the shorter boy laughed, triumphantly. Sasuke chose to ignore him.

Five minutes pasted and Naruto began to pace about irritably. "Gah! Where the hell is Kakashi-sensei?! Every minute he's not here is a minute of training wasted! I need him to train me for the next Chuunin exam! Ero-sennin's wandered off somewhere again and-"

"Shut up." groaned Sasuke, slowly growing annoyed at his team-mate's whining.

"Ne! Ne! Do you think we'll get a mission soon? We haven't had one in ages! I swear if we don't, I'm gonna demand that Tsunade-obasan gives us one!" Sasuke's eyebrow started to twitch. It really was too early for this. "Then again, she'll probably give us some really crappy D-rank mission just to spite me!" He snorted and folded his arms. "Old hag."

"Who's an old hag?" piped a familiar voice.

Naruto's face lit up when he saw his pink-haired team-mate approach them. He hadn't seen her in almost a week! "Ah! Sakura-chan!" he cried excitedly. "Good Morning!"

The girl chose to ignore him however, instead approaching the stoic boy next to Naruto. "Sasuke-kun, how are you today?" she cried in the same manner as Naruto had addressed her. "It really is a beautiful day, isn't it?"

He merely grunted in response while Naruto stood there fuming. "Sa-Sasuke-teme!"

"Kakashi-sensei isn't here yet is he?" asked the pink haired girl, quickly glancing around. "That's a relief. I was sure I'd be late! Then again, it is Kakashi-sensei, so I really don't have to worry about-"

"Wrong!" Sakura screamed and almost fell back in fright as Kakashi suddenly appeared in a poof of smoke out of nowhere.

"I've been here all along actually." He said sitting comfortably on the edge of the bridge. "Although I must admit, I was quite disappointed in how long it took you three to get here and-"

"Liar!" Naruto and Sakura yelled in union.

Sasuke closed his eyes, knowing that his two team-mates would spend the next few minutes chewing their sensei out for being late once again and lying.

"Sorry, sorry."

Naruto no longer seemed to care about his sensei's tardiness however, just excited that he could finally get some good training done. "Ne, ne! Kakashi-sensei, what training have you got lined up for us today? Oh, have you a mission for us?! Is it B-rank, or even an A-rank?!"

"Actually, I'm afraid I'll only be training with one of you today."

"Eh!? It better not be that idiot Sasuke!" yelled Naruto, angrily. "You already spent all your time training with him for the Chuunin exams!"

"Hmpf."

"I won't be training with Sasuke today."

"Then you're training with me, right? Right?" cried Naruto, his tone changing from annoyance to eagerness within the space of a few seconds.

"Sorry, Naruto-kun, but the one I'll be training today is Sakura." replied Kakashi, scratching the back of his neck.

"Me?" the pink haired girl asked, surprised.

"You're a good shinobi Sakura, but both Naruto and Sasuke have been developing at a much faster pace. I thought I owed it to you to help you catch up a bit. Therefore for the next few days I'll focus solely on you."

The girl nodded, quickly stealing a glance at Sasuke, disappointed that she wouldn't get to spend anytime with him today.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, what are we supposed to do then?" Naruto questioned, disappointedly. Sasuke who was also interested, finally appeared to take notice of them.

"Hmm. Well, you're both at similar levels of power. Why don't you train with each other?"

Sasuke grunted. He resented that statement. Naruto was nowhere near as strong as him.

"What?! You want me to train with him?!" shouted the blond boy pointing straight at Sasuke. "I'd be better training on my own!"

"I agree. He would just slow me down."

"What did you say?!"

"Now, now, you two. You'll get nowhere if you don't have someone to challenge you and push you to try harder. As your sensei, I recommend you two to train together."

"But-"

"NO BUTS!"

Naruto flinched back slightly, Kakashi's voice and face turning frightening all of a sudden. "O-Okay."

"Good. Now we'll be off." he said signalling to Sakura.

"See you guys later!" she cried as she waved goodbye, finding it difficult to stop disappoint from showing up on her face as she left Sasuke.

Naruto sighed and folded his arms. "Kakashi-sensei sure can be scary at times. Anyway, where do you wanna train?" he asked, glancing over at the other boy.

"Hmm. A minute ago you were ranting and raving against the prospect of training with me. Why the sudden change?" Sasuke found himself asking curiously against his better judgement.

"Well…I wasn't really that bothered. I just wanted to train with Kakashi-sensei. Plus it's been so long since all four of us have trained together…" Sasuke noted the disappointment in his voice. "Anyway, let's go train! I need practice!"

"What makes you think I'd waste my time training with you?"

"Sasuke! Don't act all stuck-up!" yelled Naruto, becoming riled up again.

The raven haired boy sighed. "Fine. I could use a good workout."

Naruto broke into a smile. "Sasuke."

"Of course that depends on whether you can keep up with me or not." he added with a smirk.

"Not only will I be able to keep up with you, I'll beat your ass!"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah!"

* * *

They began their training session with some weapon practice. While Sasuke wasn't the best, he was fairly adept at using shuriken, kunai and such. Naruto on the other hand had never been that good with shinobi weapons.

The blond glowered at the other boy as they stopped to observe who had hit the most targets.

"Weapons mean nothing! It's about your own strength and power that really counts!"

"Are you sure you're not just saying that because I beat you?" questioned Sasuke condescendingly, fuelling Naruto's anger.

"Gah! Anything else I can beat you at!"

"Hmm. I'd like to see you try."

The rest of the training session turned into more of a competition between the two boys than actual training; from seeing who could run up trees the fastest, who could do the most push-ups, who was the quickest at forming hand seals and so on. Both were aware of the childishness of their actions but neither backed down, refusing to admit defeat.

Sasuke found himself becoming irritated after they tested who could produce the greatest chakra flow. For some reason it just seemed to flow out of Naruto seamlessly. Although it did make him feel better that Naruto couldn't control it as well as he could. Nonetheless, the thought of Naruto beating him at anything sparked a sort of jealousy inside him, though he would never admit it.

He glanced up at the sky and from the position of the sun saw that it was already mid-afternoon. Wiping a bead of sweat from his bow, he cursed the sun for being so bright. He also found himself pretty hungry, not having eaten much at breakfast that morning, choosing shuriken practice in its place. He wanted to take a break but if Naruto was still going strong he refused to gave in before the other boy.

He gazed at Naruto, the boy too busy training to notice Sasuke staring at him. He frowned noting that despite training all morning Naruto looked like he could go on for awhile longer with no problems whatsoever. He frowned.

"Naruto."

The blue eyed boy stopped trying to mould his chakra and glanced over at Sasuke, recognising that his friend's voice sounded more serious than usual. "What?"

"That move that Jiraiya taught you, Rasengan, which one do you think is more powerful?"

"Eh?"

"My Chidori or your Rasengan?"

Naruto paused for a moment, a silly looking expression appearing on his face as if debating it over in his head. "I don't know… They're both pretty powerful."

"Do you care to find out?"

"Huh? What are you-" Without warning, the other boy dashed away into the trees.

"Ah! Sasuke!"

Cursing under his breath Naruto started to chase after him.

A few minutes later, after Naruto had finally caught up to him, Sasuke stopped. "What the hell are you doing?"

The raven haired boy pointed in front of him and Naruto was unsure what he was actually signalling him to look at given that the only things that before them were two massive boulders. Naruto gave him a confused look. It was really warm. Maybe the sun had gone to Sasuke's head…

"These two rocks, they are roughly the same size and mass."

"Uh…So?"

"Let's see once and for all who has the strongest jutsu." Finally it clicked with him what Sasuke meant. "My Chidori or your Rasengan? Of course if you're frightened that like usual I'll beat you, we don't have to." he said, a smirk forming on his face.

The blond boy snorted and a smirk that matched Sasuke's appeared on his face. "I'm a lot stronger than I was more. I won't loose to you anymore, Sasuke. I'll make you acknowledge how powerful I really am."

His face faltered slightly, but he knew that this was his chance once and for all to prove to Naruto his true superiority. The idiot had been getting cockier lately but now he could put him back in his place.

"Is that so?" And again without warning, Sasuke started to charge his Chidori.

Naruto quickly followed suit forming a shadow clone to help power his Rasengan. He refused to loose to Sasuke. He'd finally make him realise that as team-mates, they were equals.

Having finished powering up, Sasuke extended his right hand and darted towards the boulders, his fist ready to collide. A moment later, Naruto too began his attack and a few seconds later there was a small explosion of chakra as both boys hit their targets.

Sasuke leapt back, his arms stretched over his face as shielded himself from the flying rubble. A few moments later, the smoke began to fade, allowing him to see the extent of the damage he had done. He smiled, please with himself; half of the boulder reduced to rubble. He let out a satisfied "Hmpf." However, all satisfaction vanished instantly as he glanced over at the other boulder.

Unlike like him, Naruto hadn't jumped back and was now covered with small scratches and cuts from the debris. Yet this was not what had caught the boy's attention. He glanced down, starting to shake. How could this be?

The shorter boy turned and gazed straight at him. "Ne, I told you, I wouldn't be beaten by you." The boulder Naruto had hit had been completely reduced to rubble.

Sasuke found himself unable to move, his mind still trying to process what had happened. That idiot had… Naruto had... He looked down at his hand, the memory of the Chuunin exams returning. Naruto, he had…

"_I promise I'll protect Sakura!"_

Against Gaara…he hadn't been able to do anything… It was Naruto who had managed to stop Gaara; to save Sakura; to protect him…

He felt his knees go weak. Why? Why was this happening? When had Naruto gotten so strong? Or was it he who had grown weak? What had happened to that useless scaredy cat he became team-mates with a year ago?

"Sasuke. Aren't you even gonna say anything?" The raven haired boy was suddenly awoken from his thoughts by his team-mates voice. He clenched his fists. No. This wasn't fair. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Naruto beating him. Naruto looking down upon him… He wanted to vomit.

"Oi, Sasuke, say something all ready." But he didn't; just continued to stare. It was then that Naruto became worried. Slowly he started to walk over, his hand outstretched. "Hey, are you o-"

"Don't touch me!" Naruto flinched back suddenly, caught off guard by the anger and desperation in his team-mates voice. "Don't you dare touch me…"

"Sasuke…" He was horribly aware that the taller boy was shaking. He wanted to say something; to do something. He had never seen Sasuke like this before.

"I'm going home…"

"Eh? But-" A few seconds later Sasuke was gone leaving Naruto standing there amidst the rubble.

**Author's Notes: **Thank you for reading. I hope that was alright. Constructive criticism and any advice how I could improve are greatly appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Ah, because I retardedly forgot to put the disclaimer in the first chapter, I'll just reassure everyone that I do not own any of it or any of the characters connected to it. For one thing, if I did it wouldn't nearly be as popular. /sweatdrop/

**Chapter 2**

Empty eyes gazed upwards at the sky. It was dark now and Sasuke was unsure of how long he had been sat there high on the branch of a tree. The moon was almost completely invisible and there were no stars in the sky tonight. It was pitch black all around. If his mind hadn't been focusing on more important matters he may have wondered if the blankness of the sky was in fact reflecting his current state of mind. After hours of only recalling his defeat to Naruto, any feelings of anger, frustration and remorse had simply faded away, numbness taking their place. His body felt tired and worn, unconsciously yearning for sleep, but he refused to return to his empty home, as if by going back there he would truly be admitting his defeat. That and walking through the desolate streets to get to the main Uchiha house would only serve to remind him of the slaughter of his entire family committed by his detestable elder brother.

Uchiha Itachi… The man he had sought revenge on for the past five years; the man who had given birth to his new life as an avenger. Killing his brother with his own hands, it felt like nothing more than impossible dream now… If he couldn't even defeat someone like Naruto, how could he possibly fathom killing Itachi, the man who had single-handedly massacred the entire Uchiha clan? He had told him that he lacked hatred; that he was weak, and yet Itachi had gone after Naruto, ignoring him, treating him as little more than nuisance, a pathetic insect he could crush with ease but decided to toy with instead. Naruto was who he really wanted.

Why? What in the hell was so special about that ramen obsessed idiot that he could possibly warrant his brother's attention? Why did Itachi want him? Why not him? Ever since that day a questioning envy had began growing inside of him. No longer was Naruto his idiotic inferior team-mate but a potential rival, and most of all, a threat to his self-esteem.

In the early days of his time with team seven, a part of him was able to forget his true reason for existing. Sometimes he even found himself enjoying his team-mates company. However, since his brother's short return to Konoha, whenever he saw Naruto's face, memories of Itachi would begin scratching at the surface of his mind. Unlike him, Naruto had no true purpose, all there was to his quest for power was his desire to become Hokage fuelled only by his childish dreams. He however, had a true mission. He was an avenger; the deaths of his clan fuelled him to hunt down and one day kill Itachi. Surely his role as an avenger outweighed Naruto's childish dreams? But, no, despite spending almost every waking moment preparing for his inevitable future, Naruto was still more powerful. And the moment he realised this, was the moment that everything around him came crashing down. What had he been doing all this time? All those missions, all that training; in the end it had amounted to nothing. He was nothing. The once genius of his year now left in the shadow of a useless idiot who at first couldn't even do the most basic of jutsu's. If that wasn't irony he didn't know what was.

"_Foolish little brother. You lack hatred."_

Tightly he clenched his fist digging his nails into his skin. "Naruto…"

* * *

Slowly day had faded into night and Naruto found himself sat at the Ichiraku ramen stand. He had come here to treat himself, celebrating his victory over Sasuke – okay, it hadn't been a proper battle but still… However, he found himself feeling more solemn than pleased, his mind reminiscing back to the event just hours ago; the look of shock on his team-mates face upon realising he had been defeated. He sighed. He had never seen Sasuke looking quite like that and in truth it frightened him a little. He also hadn't expected him to take the challenge so seriously. For Naruto it had merely been an innocent competition – although he admitted he was pleased that his Rassengan had been stronger than Sasuke's Chidori – not the fight he had longed of for so long between the other boy. 

He stared down at the ramen bowl before him glumly. Surely, the events of today should have boosted his confidence even more, not make him feel the exact opposite.

"Um…Are you okay? You've barely touched your ramen." The blond boy looked up to see the owner of Ichiraku staring at him, not quite able to hide the shock of seeing his ramen bowl still almost full. Usually the boy devoured the noodles in less than two minutes…

"Eh? I'm fine, Jii-chan!" cried Naruto, grabbing the bowl and slurping it down within a matter of seconds. "See?"

A bead of sweat ran down the side of the owner's head. "Ah...ye-yes…"

"Thanks for the grub! See ya later!" And with that, he took leave.

Usually if he could afford it, he'd have more than one bowl but he just didn't feel hungry at all.

"_Don't touch me!"_

He gritted his teeth. Stupid Sasuke…

-

When Naruto turned up to the bridge the next day to meet for training, Kakashi informed him that he would spending the next week training solely with Sakura, much to Naruto's annoyance.

"Sorry, Naruto-kun. It's only for a week. You can spend your time training with Sasuke-kun."

"Speaking of which, where is Sasuke-kun?" asked the pink haired girl, glancing around. "It's not like him to be late."

Naruto didn't reply.

"We're going to head off now. Naruto, tell Sasuke when he arrives that I'll be training Sakura for the next week." And with that the Jounin darted off.

"Ah! Wait, Kakashi-sensei!" The girl let out an annoyed groan. "And I didn't even get to see Sasuke-kun…"

She stopped and gazed at Naruto, noticing that the boy was being uncharacteristically quiet. Usually he would interrupt her with "who cares about that idiot Sasuke?!" or something similar sounding. She frowned, noting the grave expression on her team-mate's face.

"Um, Naruto. Is everything alright?" she asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

This seemed to awaken him from his thoughts. "Huh? Oh! Of course I'm fine, Sakura-chan!" he replied with his usual wide smile. "I'm sad that we won't be able to train together for a week however!"

She smiled and gave a soft nod. "Yes." Naruto seemed to be fine. Maybe she had just been imagining things.

"Well, I better be going now."

"Bye-bye, Sakura-chan!"

"Tell Sasuke-kun I said hello when you see him." she yelled back as she dashed off.

However, the mention of the raven haired boy's name quickly caused Naruto to revert back to his previous mood.

Idiot. Where the hell was he? Sakura had been right; he had never been this late before. And then the thought struck Naruto that perhaps Sasuke wasn't going to show up at all. Nevertheless, he waited and waited for him. Yet, an hour had passed and he still didn't come.

"Gah. Screw him! If he isn't gonna show up over something so stupid…"

Finally the blond boy left.

* * *

The raven haired boy stared intently at the scroll before him, bloodshot eyes rapidly glancing over its words. Thirty-five hours had passed since the boy had last slept and Sasuke was slowly beginning to find himself weighed down by sleep deprivation. But he refused sleep. He had five more scrolls still to study before he would be satisfied. Plus he wanted to get a few solid hours of training in. Overall, receiving sleep was very low on his priority list. 

After spending most the night replaying his defeat over and over again in his mind, he finally realised that he could allow Naruto to beat him no more. He had to train twice as hard from now on; relentlessly study the scrolls containing ancient and power jutsu's that had been pasted down through the Uchiha clan for generations. Next time he saw that blond haired idiot he would be ready.

* * *

For some inexplicable reason, the next morning Naruto found himself waiting at the bridge. He let out a loud sigh as he leaned against the post behind him, wondering if Sasuke would show up today. Though, it wasn't like he wanted to see him or anything… It was just that Kakashi-sensei had told him to tell Sasuke that he wouldn't be around for the next week. 

But once again his team-mate failed to show.

"Stupid Sasuke! Making me waste my time!" he yelled out loud. Yet, strangely, for some reason, Naruto found himself more angry that Sasuke was hiding than about having waited there for nothing.

-

Sasuke felt his body ache as he lifted his arm to toss the kunai he held in his hand. Leaping up into the air and spinning around he released the kunai between his fingers all at once. After landing on the ground he took a few seconds to try and catch his breath. Why was he panting so heavily? Surely he hadn't been training that long? After looking up, he gritted his teeth in both annoyance and disappointment. Only two of the kunai had hit any of the targets, the rest scattered randomly in the grass around him.

"_Get up! Try again!" _ a voice screamed in mind. He did what the voice commanded. He couldn't quit now. He had to keep going.

"_Foolish little brother. You are weak."_

"Itachi…" Tightly he clenched his fists. "I'll kill you… I'll kill you with my own two hands… I will fulfil my role…"

As he bent down for one of the kunai he was suddenly overcome with a wave of nausea. Falling to his knees he clenched his chest. It hurt. His body…it felt so heavy… Why was everything growing so dark?

Slowly the dark haired boy faded out of consciousness.

* * *

The next day, Naruto once again returned to the bridge, and as he suspected Sasuke was nowhere in sight. However, this time the blue eyed boy limited himself to just over five minutes before leaving. Overall, he had not suspected Sasuke to show up, but at the same time he couldn't quite shake that odd feeling of disappointment. He hated training by himself, only causing him to remember those days when he was completely alone. Even if it was with Sasuke he wouldn't have minded… 

He let out a sigh and placed his arms behind his head, wondering if he just wandered around a bit if he'd run into any of the other genin. Maybe he'd find Shikamaru lazily gazing up at the clouds like usual. It would be fun to annoy him. For some reason Shikamaru hated anyone interrupting his 'cloud-watching' as he called it.

And so Naruto started to wander around the woods of Konoha, not going anywhere in particular, merely letting his legs navigate him. Surely, he'd run into someone sooner or later. But what he stumbled across was not another person. His legs had taken him to the exact spot Sasuke had challenged him the other. "Ah! What are you doing brining me here?!" he yelled, cursing his legs.

He looked down at the rubble below him, randomly kicking a rock out of the way. The boulder he had hit with his Rasengan was completely demolished while bits of the Chidori-boulder still stood. Irritated and without thinking he kicked the boulder only to be faced with a sudden pain running up his foot. "Ah! Goddamnit!" he yelled hoping about on his other foot. "This is all Sasuke's fault! Him and his stupid pride! I beat him, so what?! I bet he's at home sulking. I'm gonna go over there and bring his ass back here!"

-

Hastily Naruto hurried to the Uchiha estate, managing to arrive there within half an hour. He stopped when he reached the entrance and curiously glanced around. While he knew of the place this was his first time ever being here, and was amazed by the size of it. No one came here anymore; the Uchiha district of Konoha was pretty much cut off ever since the massacre of the clan. The only person who stayed there was Sasuke who had lived here his entire life. All he knew was that Sasuke lived in the main Uchiha mansion, seeing as his father was the former head of the clan. While not knowing where it was, Naruto guessed it would be the biggest house in the place and so started to walk through the small town.

The blond found himself feeling slightly uneasy the deeper he went, the place absolutely deserted. It reminded him of some strange ghost town and he wondered how his team-mate could possibly stand living here. What made it even more disturbing was that everything seemed to be untouched. There were still worn-out posters and banners plastered on the walls from over five years ago and from quickly stealing a glance in a couple of the windows he could see that there was still some furniture inside the houses.

"Scary…" he commented, grimacing and wrapping his arms around himself.

When five minutes had passed and he still hadn't came across Sasuke's house he was half-tempted to start yelling out the boy's name.

"Then again, if I did that, the bastard would probably ignore me." he thought bitterly. "Hey wait, I have an idea!" Seeing as no one was about he leapt up on to one of the rooftops. "I can find him this way." He smiled, pleased with his idea.

Carefully glancing around, he spotted a large house a little distance away. "Alright!" And with that he set off.

Naruto scowled as he stood outside the mansion, comparing it to his dingy little apartment.

"Oi! Sasuke! It's me! Get your ass out here!" he called out loudly. But, as he suspected there was no reply.

"Guess it can't be helped." he said, slowly sliding the door open. However, mostly he just wanted to see what the inside looked like.

He called out the boy's name a few more times. "Gah. I have no idea where to start looking." he sighed.

After looking in numerous rooms, Naruto finally came across one that looked like it was being used. Not that there was much in it; it just appeared less dusty than the rest.

"It's huge! I wish my room was this big! Then again, I bet the Hokage's house is five times the size as this place." He let out a proud snicker. "Guess I won't have long to wait till I move in there then!"

He turned to exit when suddenly something caught his eye. At the other side of the room there was a picture frame on the desk of drawers. Letting curiosity drive him he went over and picked it up and was surprised to see that he was in the photograph. He smiled softly. It was the picture they had taken shortly after becoming part of Team Seven. He, Sakura and Kakashi all had the same picture, but for some reason he felt happy knowing that Sasuke too had the picture on show.

About to continue his search, he placed the picture frame back down. However, a quick glance out the window caused him to see something that shocked him. His eyes widened.

"Sasuke!"

**Authors Notes: **Oh poor Sasuke, you and your inferiority complex… Anyway, thank you very much for reading. Constructive criticism and any advice how I could improve are greatly appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its related characters.

**Chapter 3**

Slowly, the raven haired boy opened his eyes, unable to make anything out through the blurriness. His body felt so tired and worn out; not from a dangerous battle with a powerful opponent but merely from sheer exhaustion. He couldn't remember ever feeling quite this bad. His eyes struggled to stay open while his mind begged him to close them and go back to sleep. However, as a trained shinobi that would go against all the teachings he had learnt in the academy. He had to force himself to become alert and assess the situation.

Okay, firstly where was he and how did he get here? After a few moments he realised that he was in his own bed, leaning into the mattress beneath him and feeling the texture of his sheets. If he was out on a mission he would most likely be sleeping on the ground or if he was lucky then on some crummy bed in an Inn. His mind relaxed a little realising that he was not in any immediate danger. A minute or so later he remembered what had happened. _I was training in the garden when I collapsed. I was just so tired… But then how did I get up here?_

His eyes were fully opened now and forcing himself up a few inches he glanced around slightly. However, it wasn't long before his eyes got sight of a sleeping figure slouched on a chair across the room.

Without thinking, Sasuke vocalised his shock. "Na-Naruto!" This was something he immediately regretted as the blond boy quickly woke up at the sound of his voice.

"Sasuke!" The boy jumped up from the chair and rushed towards the bed. "You're finally awake!"

Even the sound of his team-mates voice caused him to wince. Why? Why in the hell was he here?

"What-What are you doing here?" he gasped in disbelief.

"Hey! You should be happy that I came here! If it wasn't for me finding you you'd still be lying in the garden, and it's cold at night so you'd freeze!"

His eyes widened. Naruto…Naruto had found him? Naruto had found him lying unconscious in such a pathetic and weak state? Just a couple of days ago he had tore his pride to shreds defeating him so easily and now he had seen him like that?

The raven haired boy quickly slapped his hand over his mouth, feeling like he was about to throw up.

"Hey! Sasuke! Are-are you okay?" Naruto asked, panicked.

No. He couldn't deal with this. Tightly he clenched his eyes shut and that's when he felt an arm slide around his shoulder.

"Hold it together, Sasuke! You-you'll be alright! I'm here."

"_I'm here?" _What? Was that supposed to make him feel better or something? It was because he was here that he felt like this!

Slowly Naruto ran his hand over his team-mate's back, not quite sure what to do and wondering if he should go grab something for Sasuke in case he did throw up. But strangely he found that he didn't want to leave the boy.

A few minutes or so passed and although still feeling nauseas, Sasuke realised that he wasn't going to vomit and so slowly removed his hand from his mouth.

With this, Naruto let out a sigh of relief. "Man, you had me worried there a minute. You gonna be okay?"

Sasuke didn't reply; just sat there staring forward.

The blond boy frowned, confused to why he was being ignored. "Hey, Sasuke, come on. Is everything alright?" He started to rub his friend's arm in a comforting gesture only to-

"Don't touch me!" Instantly the Naruto let go, startled; his mind flashing back to a few days ago were Sasuke had said the exact same words.

"Sa-Sasuke… Why?"

"Get out."

"But-"

"Leave me alone!"

"No! Not until you tell me what the hell is wrong with you! Why are you acting like this?!" he demanded, finally loosing his temper.

The dark eyed boy just glared at him.

"Is this all because of those stupid boulders?! If it is then it didn't mean anything! It was just a dumb- Well, I don't know what it was but it was stupid anyway!"

No reply.

"You haven't showed up for training in days! What? Are you just gonna hide out here forever? Are you just going to keep running away?!"

Still no reply.

The blond let out an exasperated sigh. "I thought you were stronger than that, Sasuke. Maybe you really are weak."

All of a sudden, Naruto found his jacket being gripped tightly by the other boy. "Don't you dare say that! I don't want to hear that from the likes of you."

A sly smile appeared on Naruto's face. "I thought that might wake you up."

Sasuke's grip became tighter as he realised that the other boy was toying with his emotions.

"Why? Why are you being like this? I beat you at one little thing. Why are you acting like it's the end of the world?"

"Because I can't… I can't be defeated by you. Not a fool like you. If I loose here…If I loose here, then it will have all been for nothing. I won't be able to avenge them…"

Naruto gazed at his team-mate with a sympathetic expression, seemingly unconcerned about Sasuke's hold on him. "You're talking about Itachi, aren't you?"

"Don't you dare say his name!" the raven hair boy screamed. "He has nothing to do with you!"

"But he does! He-He's your brother. And, well he tried to abduct me that time…"

For a spilt second, Sasuke's eyes widened, and the fabric of Naruto's jacket slipped through his fingers.

Uchiha Sasuke. His brother. The one who had massacred his entire clan. The reason he had been training notoriously these past five years. After all that time he had finally found him. Now he could complete his mission, finally kill the murdering bastard. But no, he was too weak. Itachi, he had subdued him with such ease; put him in a coma; could have easily crushed him like a fly if he had wanted to. All of that training was for nothing. All those hours, days, weeks, months, years… pointless.

Itachi hadn't taken a second glance at him. The one he was really here for was him, Uzumaki Naruto. Why? Of all the people in the world why him? Why someone so useless, so stupid… Why not him?

Because he wasn't good enough; wasn't worthy to stand in the presence of Uchiha Itachi. There was no point in killing something so weak and defenceless. Sasuke knew this and so did his brother. To him he was nothing. But Naruto. To go out of his way; to return to Konoha, the place he had committed such a travesty… Naruto was valuable to him. And from this Sasuke received a perverse sense of jealousy. He wanted Itachi to look at him and only at him. Not someone far weaker than he was. For Naruto was weak wasn't he? No, he wasn't. That boy had grown so much stronger in this past year; grown more than Sasuke could have ever hoped to achieve. And apparently with such ease, while he struggled on, fighting for a cause, for a mission he could never fulfil. Itachi was everything while he was nothing. Naruto, well, he was everything in between…

"He wanted you and not me… I-I understand now…"

"What…what are you talking about?" Naruto asked tentatively.

"All this time… I've been such a fool. I can never hope to achieve half the power he has. He was ten times more powerful at me at this age, became a leader of ANBU. And what am I? I am no one. I'm nothing. Nothing more than a shadow of heartless murderer. I've been living a lie. I thought I could really kill him, finally get revenge for them, for myself; thought that's what he wanted too. But no, all along, he kept me alive merely so he could toy with me; kept me alive because I was too weak. He knew there was no way that I could ever defeat him. He left me alive to remind himself of what he did. I am the sum of my brother's non-existent guilt and to everyone else, the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan, the poor little boy who had his entire family slaughtered by his own brother. That is what I am. Nothing more…"

"Sasuke…"

"I wish he had killed me that night, just like everyone else…"

"What the hell!? Are you saying that you would rather be dead!?"

"But I was too weak then, and I'm too weak even now. After trying so hard, I-"

"Sasuke, snap out of it!" cried the blond boy grabbing hold of him.

"Killing him… That was my only reason for existing; to get vengeance. Without that I have no reason to even exist."

Punch.

Suddenly the raven haired boy was thrown back slightly from the collision of Naruto's fist. "You're an idiot." he yelled, fists and eyes clenched tightly. "You really are an idiot. Sasuke!"

He didn't reply, running his hand across his now swollen cheek.

"How the hell can you say such things; think such things!? Sakura-chan, she-she'd be heartbroken if she knew you felt this way!"

"It doesn't matter."

Naruto had to repress the urge to taken another swipe. "How…How do you think I would feel!?"

The dark eyed boy let out a small chuckle, still refusing to look at Naruto. "You'd be happy wouldn't you? You would finally have Sakura all to yourself. The girl you desire but who is always staring at me. With me out of the way, you two could be the perfect couple. Maybe even cute-"

This time Naruto hit him hard and a drop of blood came spluttering out of his mouth.

"You think that?! You really think that I would be happy if something bad were to happen to you!?"

Sasuke didn't reply. Naruto didn't go. They sat there in silence, Sasuke not bothering to clean or spit out the blood in his mouth. But it was in this time that he noticed small drops of water running down Naruto's cheeks.

Finally Naruto broke the silence. "If anything were to happen to you… I-I don't know what I'd do."

Sasuke looked up slightly. "You're my rival, and sometimes I hate you so much. But, you are also my team-mate, and the person I consider to be my best friend."

"Best friend?" he questioned, barely more than a whisper.

"So don't say shit like I'd be glad if you were to die! I thought I had lost you once before and I…" He had gone berserk, that's what had happened; thought that Sasuke had died whilst protecting him. And upon seeing his team-mate's lifeless body he had lost every last ounce of rational thought only to be replaced by pure blood-wrenching rage unable to deal with the shock and overwhelming agony of loss. That's when anger had stepped in and took its place. "…well, I was really upset. So, don't say things like that. You do have a purpose. You're here to protect the village of Konoha. And you have people who care about you. Even me. Plus you have another reason to live."

Sasuke titled his head slightly, showing his confusion.

"I'm you're rival, right? So you have to defeat me at least once in a proper fight before packing it in." the blond chuckled, a smile returning to his face.

Sasuke wasn't aware of it before, but there was something cold running down his cheeks. Slowly he lifted his hand and brushed his fingers against it. "Tears… I'm crying?" He hadn't cried in years. "Why…Why am I crying?"

"Maybe you're sad. But maybe you're happy too." sniffed Naruto, wiping away his own tears.

"Happy?"

"Because now you have a reason. And I bet if you try even harder you'll finally beat your brother."

"You…You don't know what you're talking about." His eyes lowered.

The blue eyed boy snorted. "It makes a hell of a lot more sense than what you're saying." Suddenly he jumped up. "Well there's no sense, sitting about being all depressed. Hey, I'll make you some ramen! It always makes me feel better!" He started to run out the room when he came to a halt. "Oh, uh, where's you're kitchen, again?" he said, scratching the back of his head. "Your house is so big that I kind of got lost earlier."

The boy on the bed mumbled something inaudible.

"Eh?"

He sighed. "I said I don't have any ramen."

"What!? You-you don't have any ramen!? What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"Not everyone in the world eats ramen, you know!"

"But-but it's sooo good!" he cried. "Oh, I know! Wait right here! I'll be right back, Sasuke!" And just like that, the blond haired boy dashed out the room leaving Sasuke alone.

**Authors Notes: **Sorry, I really didn't mean to leave it this long between updating. I hope Sasuke isn't coming across as _too_out of character. He's had a nervous breakdown, that's my excuse I suppose…

Constructive criticism and any advice how I could improve are greatly appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its related characters.

**Chapter 4**

For the entire time that Naruto was gone, Sasuke spent his time staring down at his hands where the excess of his tears lay. Only a small part of him was even aware that Naruto had left, and he had no idea if the boy would return or not. While he felt mostly numb, he also felt shame. He had spilled his guts out to the blond boy, telling him things so private, so personal; thoughts that he hadn't even been aware he had until he had said them. That feeling of shame quickly increased and soon he noticed, still staring at hands that they were quivering.

Unconsciously he wrapped his arms around himself as if trying to shield himself from the pain. He was so pathetic… He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes again and he-

"Sasuke! I'm back!" yelled a voice loudly. As if on reflex, Sasuke instantly untangled his arms and glanced the other way as Naruto came rushing into his room. Quickly he rubbed away the tears with hand. He had already let Naruto see him cry once today, and it wasn't something he planned on letting him see ever again.

"Sasuke, I got it!" he cried, lifting up his hands with a plastic carrier bag in each full of what Sasuke could only assume was ramen. "Come on. I'll make us some!"

"I don't want any." Sasuke replied, still turned away.

"When was the last time you ate something?" he demanded.

He didn't reply.

"See! Come on!" And without warning, he grabbed the pale boy's arm and pulled him out of bed.

"What the hell are-"

"I told you, I don't know where the kitchen is." He then took hold of his hand and dragged him out of the room. Sasuke much to his chagrin found that he didn't have the strength to pull away, still completely exhausted from the past few days.

However, despite claiming to need Sasuke to show him where the kitchen was, the blue eyed boy seemed to run about the halls at random until he finally did stop him and show him the way.

"Here." stated the dark haired boy as he slid the door open. As Naruto wandered in and glanced about, Sasuke took this time to collapse on to an old chair in the corner of the room.

"Ramen, ramen, I love ramen." Naruto said to himself in a sing-song voice.

How the hell anyone could get so excited over something like ramen was beyond him, but at the moment he had more important things on his mind, like getting rid of his unwanted guest, if you could even call him that.

"Can't you just take your ramen and make it at home?" he asked irritably.

"I'll have starved be time I get back home!" replied the shorter boy as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Besides I want to share it with you."

Sasuke didn't reply, and they remained in silence for the next few minutes until Naruto had decided the ramen had cooled down enough and placed it down on the table in the middle of the room. Without being asked, Sasuke stood up from his chair and went over to the table and kneeled down on the floor. Although he didn't want to admit it, he was pretty hungry and anything that could satisfy his hunger – even ramen – was good enough for him.

Neither said anything as they sat at the table, and Sasuke wondered if Naruto felt just as awkward as him or was just too busy stuffing his face with ramen to say anything. A minute or so later it occurred to him that this was the first time that the blond had ever been in his house, and in turn only caused him to feel more uncomfortable. In fact no one had been in the house since the – well, massacre of his clan… It had just been him; all by his self. The realisation caused his heart to sink.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" asked Naruto, already finished his second cup of ramen. "You've hardly ate anything."

Awakening from his thoughts he slowly looked down to find that despite being so hungry he hadn't even eaten half of them.

"Come on, you need to eat!" Naruto yelled getting ready to dig into a third cup.

"I don't need you to tell me that." The dark haired boy snorted before continuing.

Naruto smiled.

They continued to eat in silence until both had finished their cups. Naruto had asked Sasuke if he had wanted another one to which he declined causing the other boy to go on a rant about the wonders of the noodles.

After that Sasuke had expected his _guest _to leave. Normally he would have told the idiot to get the hell out and leave him alone in as few words as possible, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Shouldn't you be training with Kakashi and Sakura?" he chose to say instead.

"Kakashi-sensei's been training with Sakura-chan these past few days. Ah, I miss her so much!" he wailed pathetically. "Training alone sucks sometimes."

"That's why you came here?" Sasuke asked; his voice empty.

"Actually I came here to kick your ass but…" He stopped suddenly glancing over at his team-mate. "I mean…"

The pale boy let out a small noise that sounded like a snigger but Naruto couldn't be sure. "You should leave now. I can't give you what you want." He said, standing up.

Naruto opened his mouth to argue but surprisingly no words came out. "I'm assuming you know the way out." And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving the blond haired boy alone at the table.

Five minutes pasted and he was still sat there. He couldn't bring himself to go after Sasuke. He didn't want him there; hated the sight of him. And for the first time in so long he felt that same old loathing for himself that he had experienced during his childhood. A minute or so later, he got up and left.

* * *

Training that day didn't last long. Naruto had too many other things on his mind to concentrate properly; mainly a dark haired Uchiha. Of all the things he had expected when he went over to Sasuke's that was not one of them. He had figured that his team-mate had just been shunning him over general annoyance due to the whole boulder thing. What he hadn't expected was the boy to have an almost nervous breakdown about it. Seeing Sasuke like that; so scared, so vulnerable… It brought a strange protective instinct out in the blond. Although he was still pissed at Sasuke for being so damn stubborn and awkward, he felt a strong need to wrap his arms around the boy and tell him that everything would be all okay. It was almost like every previous desire to defeat Sasuke and prove his worth to him had completely disappeared, and this frightened him. Had seeing his team-mate in such a state affected him so much?

At first he had tried to ignore it. He had wiped away his tears and pretended that everything was fine and back to normal; had even rushed out to buy some ramen, hoping to share it with Sasuke as some kind of peace offering. How stupid and naive he was to think that things could be resolved so easily. Although he pretended to understand him, Sasuke was the most complicated person he had ever met. Of course things couldn't be resolved so easily. There was so many things about the boy that he still didn't know. After all, it hadn't been till much later that he actually learned of the identity of the man Sasuke had said he wanted to kill on their first meeting with Kakashi. And he couldn't pretend that the things Sasuke had said earlier that day hadn't shocked him.

How long would things go on this way? Apparently Sasuke didn't even want to be near him. Would there be a permanent rift between them from now on? And if so how would this affect Team Seven? What would he say to Kakashi-sensei when Sasuke no longer turned up for training? What would Sakura-chan say? Would she blame him? Hate him for driving Sasuke away from everyone? He had a feeling that even if Sakura did try to comfort and ask Sasuke to return he wouldn't listen to her. What if in the end, Sasuke ended up leaving Konoha for good? He had said that there was nothing left for him here, only painful memories. To him there was no reason to say.

Naruto's stomach churned at the thought of never seeing Sasuke again. Although he hated the guy at times, he was still his friend… his best friend… An overwhelming feeling of dread erupted from within in and instantly he found himself running back to the Uchiha mansion once again.

* * *

Sasuke lay on top of his bed, staring lifelessly at the ceiling whilst trying to block out the one hundred and one thoughts currently bombarding his mind. However, it was no use. No matter how hard he tried to close his mind they still managed to get through; particularly the ones concerning Naruto. He wasn't sure how long it had been since Naruto had left. These past few days he had seemed to have lost all sense of time. Not that it really matter of course.

Curling up into a small ball he brought his head to his knees. Why hadn't he realised before just how weak he was? Why had he been deluding himself all this time? Some sort of fucked up defence-mechanism he supposed.

He'd probably never see Naruto again. After seeing him like this he would probably never come back. He wasn't even sure why his team-mate had stayed that long in the first place. Why had he forced himself to stay? Even running off to buy noodles with that stupid grin on his face… Didn't he realise that everything had now changed? Maybe Naruto was deluding himself too…

_He just wants to fight me. That's all. _

Yes. That was it. Naruto had spent so much time wanting to fight him; to prove that he was stronger, that he was unable to accept that his _rival _was little more than scum. That's why he had stayed so long; trying to coax him out of it. Naruto wasn't as stupid as he often appeared. He would figure it out sooner or later, and then move on forgetting about him completely. After all he could no longer return to his team. Everyone would forget about him eventually, even Sakura who was constantly pinning after him. Who knows, maybe with him gone, she would finally take notice of her other team-mate constantly trying to catch her affections. For some reason this thought caused him to feel even worse and unconsciously he wrapped his arms tightly around his legs.

Yes, he would disappear, be forgotten. And the only thing that would be left of the Uchiha memory in Konoha would be the horrible massacre committed by one of its own clan members. Maybe some would wonder what happened to that boy who had survived, but over time people would stop wondering even that until it became all but a distant memory.

He had no reason left to remain here. No reason left to live. He had let his family down, let himself down… and let Naruto down.

And for the first time since those long months after the massacre he felt so incredibly alone that his entire being ached with inexplicable agony. He would forever be alone left with the knowledge that he worthless and unwanted. A cracked sob escaped his lips.

**Authors Notes: **Constructive criticism and any advice how I could improve are greatly appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Naruto or any of its related characters.

"Sasuke!!!"

The dark haired boy looked up through tear stricken eyes to see his team-mate standing at the door, panting in exhaustion. "Na-Naruto?"

"Sasuke, don't go! Don't… don't leave Konoha." he pleaded desperately trying to catch his breath.

Sasuke honestly had no idea what he was talking about, but he was in too much shock to actually reply. Naruto, he had come back. But why?

"Promise me. Promise me that no matter what, you won't leave!"

There was a long pause, and Sasuke turned away, unable to look into his pleading eyes any longer. "Why?" he finally asked.

"Because you belong here!" he replied instantly. "Uh, what I mean is… I-I don't want you to go, okay! Without you here, I'd be lonely…"

"There are plenty of other people here in Konoha. Kakashi, Sakura-"

"But they're not you!" Sasuke's eyes widened significantly, but he didn't dare turn around.

"I realised _that_ these past few days. Even if I had been training with Kaksahi-sensei and Sakura-chan, I-I would have still been thinking about you… At first I was angry when you didn't show up for training those days, but then I realised something. I was scared, scared of you being angry with me, scared that you would never talk to me again. That's why I came here. I didn't realise that you..." He paused and took a deep breath. "I understand if you hate me! But please don't leave Konoha! And don't quit Team seven! Even if you won't talk to me, I still wanna see you everyday."

"I-I'm not who you think I am." stated Sasuke, still refusing to look at him. "Even if I stayed with Team Seven I wouldn't be able to be your rival anymore. I'm too weak."

"Don't you think that's for me to decide? Besides, I don't want you to stay so I can defeat you. The real reason is you're my best friend. And without you, I don't think I'd get very far…"

The dark haired boy clenched his fists on the bed sheets, shaking slightly. Naruto frowned. Sasuke still hated him after all.

He opened his mouth to say more, but abruptly stopped as his team-mate turned to face him, his face streaming with tears. And now he could no longer help it. He ran over and wrapped his arms around him. Sasuke didn't struggle instead grabbing tightly on to Naruto's jacket. The blond ran his hand up and down his friend's back as Sasuke cried into his chest. Seeing him like this, it no longer scared him. What he did feel, was relief. And he didn't dare ruin the moment by saying anything. Instead he would hold Sasuke as long as he needed to held.

And two words formed in his mind, 'Thank you'.

* * *

As he regained consciousness, Sasuke felt something warm against his chest. He wasn't sure what it was; just knew that it was nice, and he didn't dare open his eyes in case it went away. He snuggled deeper into it and he wondered if he was in fact dreaming. If it was, then it was definitely a welcome change from the kind he usually dreamt. He inwardly shuddered at the thought. But no, he shouldn't think of that. Concentrate on now; on the warm around you. 

He would have been contented to stay like that forever if not for a faint muttering arousing his attention. He felt his body being shifted slightly and it was then that he realised that this was no dream. In the end, he would have to risk it. And so slowly he opened his eyes and pulled away only to come across a pair of bright blue eyes staring back at him.

"Hey," commented the voice that accompanied the pair of eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Na-Naruto?"

The boy smiled. "Yeah?"

Suddenly he realised that he was gripping on to Naruto's jacket and quickly let go. The warmth he had just experienced, it had been from him…

"You were out for a good few hours. Sorry if I woke you up shifting But having someone lie on you for that long is kind of uncomfortable." he said, scratching the back of his head.

A blush rose upon Sasuke's cheeks as he realised how awkward the situation must have been. "S-Sorry…"

"Huh? Wait, no it's fine! I mean, uh, how are you feeling?!" the blond cried, practically flailing.

Sasuke didn't reply straight away, instead trying to process all that had happened. However what stood out most despite his defeat and humiliation, was that Naruto had came back for him…

"Did you really mean it?" he questioned quietly.

"Eh?"

"Why you came back, that is…"

"The future Hokage would never lie!" he replied with a huge grin.

The corners of Sasuke's lips twitched. It was the first time he had smiled in so long. "Idiot. Anyone else would want nothing else to do with me, but not you. Always have to show off, don't you?"

"People wouldn't forget you as easily as you seem to think. Without you, there is no Team Seven. Kakashi-sensei… Sakura-chan… they'd feel the same way I do."

"Maybe. But I think if it had been them, it wouldn't have mattered…"

"Huh?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

Stretching his arms, Naruto let out a huge yawn. "Man, am I beat. I haven't slept properly in two days."

Hearing that, Sasuke felt even guiltier than before knowing he was the sole reason for his team-mate's hectic past couple of days.

"I really need to go to bed and…" He trailed off suddenly, glancing back at Sasuke. "I mean, well, I guess I'm not _that _tired." In truth he didn't want to leave him alone, even if it did cause him sleep deprivation. Well, he was a ninja after all, and it wasn't uncommon for shinobi on A-Class or even B-Class missions to go days without sleep in order to accomplish assignments or just generally avoid being killed.

"You…You can stay here the night if you want." The dark haired boy stated uneasily. "Judging from how dark it is outside it's probably pretty late so…" He really didn't know what he was getting at. It wasn't like Naruto couldn't walk home in the dark. He just…. He didn't want him to leave, that was all.

"Hmm… Sure!"

He nodded. "I'll go search out some bedding."

"Hey, Sasuke, can I…can I ask you something?"

His body tensed, his heart suddenly racing. "What-what is it?"

"Where's your bathroom, 'cause I'm absolutely desperate!!!"

A bead of sweat ran down the side of his head. "Go straight down the hallway and turn left."

"Thanks!" Naruto yelled frantically as he dashed out door.

"Idiot." Still, he did feel somewhat relieved that Naruto hadn't questioned him on just why he had invited him to stay.

He stared down at his hands curiously. "I'm not acting like myself at all…"

----------------------

Sasuke made his way slowly to one of the many spare rooms. Like Naruto with his lack of sleep, Sasuke hadn't eaten much in the past few days. And in turn his body refused to function normally. He couldn't be bothered to make anything though, and it wasn't like he could ask Naruto to make him something. He glanced about curiously as he walked into one of the guest rooms. The place was covered in dust; then again, it hadn't been cleaned at all in the past four years. It was an unwritten rule for Sasuke that he would not wander around unnecessary areas of the mansion, and he pretty much kept to only several rooms. Now he had broken that rule.

He was greeted by a large cloud of dust as he opened the cupboard to retrieve a futon. Coughing he stepped back as several sheets fell to the floor. For a brief moment he considered cleaning the place, but immediately thought against it. There was no point. He probably wouldn't be back in this room for another four years, if at all. As he sorted through the covers, he couldn't help but wonder who had last stayed in the room. It was a depressing thought. Though what was worst was that he knew no matter how hard he tired to rack his brain he would never remember.

As he began to set out Naruto's futon for him, he heard the boy yell for him.

"Sasuke! Sasuke, where are you!?"

"I'm in here!" he called back. The idiot was way too loud. Still, it turned his mind away from his melancholy thoughts.

A few moments later, he came busting in "Ah, there you- Ahhh!" He jumped back flailing. He had walked right into a cobweb. "Don't rush to help me, you know!" he spluttered, finally getting it off. "Man, this place is filthy."

"Well, it hasn't been cleaned for years. Still, I bet it's cleaner than your apartment."

"Hey, that's not… okay, well my place is kind of a mess right now. But it's a hell of a lot cleaner than here!"

Sasuke didn't doubt it. However, he was almost embarrassed for Naruto to see the place so unclean, and he wondered how his mother had managed to keep the entire mansion so tidy.

"What are you doing anyway?"

"Setting up your bedding."

"Oh. I'm sleeping here then?" the shorter boy asked, sounding slightly disappointed.

"Your right. It's a mess in here, I should clean it at least." replied Sasuke, annoyed at himself for not realising sooner.

"No! That's uh…not what I meant." His cheeks became a faint shade of red. "It's just that, uh, this room is so big! I'm not used to sleeping in a room this big. At least if I sleep in your room, it'll uh seem like it's smaller."

Much to his relief, Sasuke didn't question him, just nodded and started to pick up the sheets. It was a complete lie of course. He could pretty much fall asleep anywhere. Put simply, he just didn't want to leave the Uchiha alone, knowing he would spend the entire time worrying about him; if he was upset, if he was crying, if he was thinking about leaving…

"Are you alright?" the black haired boy asked him, uneasily.

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine!" he cried, realising that he had completely fazed off.

Sasuke merely nodded and with that they head back to his room.

---------------------------------

"You…You really don't need to do that" said Naruto as he watched the other boy bat off the sheets with a paddle to get rid of the dust.

"It's fine. It wouldn't be healthy for you to sleep, what with inhaling all the dust."

"I guess so…" Really, he just wanted to jump into bed and fall straight asleep. His tiredness even took over his appetite for once.

"There." spoke Sasuke, after he had gotten rid of the dust and set it down on the floor.

Naruto smiled. "Thanks."

"Idiot." He muttered to himself. '_I'm the one who should be thanking you, but I-'_

Without warning, the blond haired boy flopped down on the futon and started quickly pulling off all his clothes par his underwear. Feeling uncomfortable, Sasuke quickly turned away. The past few days he had slept in his clothes. Realising that he must be pretty smelly by then, he considered taking them off. However unlike Naruto, he didn't like the thought of stripping off in front of other people. He would wait and shower in the morning. After all, feeling dirty was the least of his worries.

He switched off the light and climbed into his own bed, Naruto already under the covers.

"Uh, good night, Sasuke." said the other boy after a minute of silence.

A short, "Hmm," was all he responded with. He hadn't realised until he had actually gotten into bed how strange it was having Naruto staying there, sleeping in his own room. If someone had told him a week ago that the bumbling idiot would be sleeping on his floor tonight, he would have… well snorted and turned away…

He gazed up impassively at the ceiling and after a few minutes he heard loud breathing from below him. Naruto was asleep already.

He let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes. "Good night, Naruto."

**Authors Notes: **Constructive criticism and any advice on how I could improve are greatly appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes: **Hey there. I'm really sorry it took so long to update this fic. Real life has pretty much snuck up on me lately what with starting a new job, having to search for a new flat etc. Anyway, enough with my excuses, here's the next chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any or any of the characters related to it.

**Chapter Six**

Blue eyes opened onto an unfamiliar environment, as Naruto realised that the ceiling he was currently gazing up at was not his own. Fighting the urge to roll back over and sleep, he pushed himself up, albeit slowly. Letting out a huge yawn, he took his time in letting his brain register where he was. Finally realising, he quickly glanced upwards to find the bed above him empty. A wave of fear rushed over him and without a second thought he rushed through the corridors of the Uchiha mansion, crying out its owner's name.

"SASUKE! Where are you!?"

Poking his head in every single room he came across, he finally finds the dark haired boy in the kitchen.

"Sasuke." he panted in relief.

"What the hell are you yelling about so early in the morning?" Sasuke asked, his back turned.

"Eh? Oh, ah, nothing. Just doing a little exercise!" A bead of sweat ran down the back of his head. But it still worried him; the thought of Sasuke disappearing, of never being able to see him again.

Sasuke sighed. "You're an idiot, but at least you have good timing." he said placing some bowls on the table. "I just finished making breakfast."

"Breakfast? All right! I'm star-" He stopped and blinked. "This…this isn't ramen."

"Of course it's not ramen, it's a decent breakfast. I made rice, miso, natto and grilled fish. It's a lot healthier than eating ramen constantly." he replied, sitting down and picking up his own bowl of rice.

"I guess…" He always had ramen for breakfast, but if Sasuke had gone out of his way to make this for him…

"It looks great! Man, thanks a lot! Thanks for the food!"

Sasuke stared in surprise for a few moments as Naruto fired into his breakfast. He had been so sure of the other boy kicking up a big fuss about only eating ramen for breakfast and how delicious it was, and well, basically praising it to the high heavens.

"So, how long have you been awake?" Naruto asked through a mouth full of food.

"A few hours. I've slept so much lately that I don't think I could anymore even if I tried."

A small voice in the back of the blond's hair informed him of how Sasuke could have easily ran away in those few hours he was a sleep, but he instantly silenced it. Sasuke hadn't left, he was still here, and right now that was all that mattered.

"So, uh, did you sleep alright last night?" Sasuke felt like a complete idiot. His conversational skills were awful, not that he was particularly bothered about improving them.

"Yeah. I slept great! I can sleep anywhere."

"I see. That's good."

"So do you cook much then?" asked Naruto having finished his rice and starting on his miso.

"Not really. Just the basics. With training I don't have that much time. Not that I've been doing much training these past few days."

"Did you teach yourself to cook?"

He shook his head. "My Mother did. She was great cook." he replied, a little solemnly. Yet, Naruto couldn't help but smile slightly. This was the first time that Sasuke had ever said anything about his family. Or well, his family that wasn't his brother that was.

"I guess I'm the same, what with training all the time. Then again, I love ramen so much that I'm not bothered about cooking anything else." he laughed.

The other boy sighed. "It's amazing that you're still alive."

"Sasuke is right Naruto." sounded a familiar voice. "For the future Hokage to live solely on ramen, sets a bad example for others."

The two genin both looked up instantly to find their sensei kneeled down at the table next to them.

"Ka-Kakashi-sensei!? Wh-what the hell are you doing in Sasuke's house!?"

"I could ask you the same thing." the grey haired man replied. "Then again, unlike me, it seems like you were invited."

"What are you doing here, Kakashi?" Sasuke asked coldly.

"I wanted to check up on how two of my three favourite students were coping without their dear sensei, but here I find the two of you together. Now that I don't have to waste time searching for Naruto, I won't be too late this morning."

"Don't keep poor Sakura-chan, waiting!" the shorter boy yelled.

"Yes, yes. I just came over for a quick check. Though I must admit I'm disappointed that I didn't make it in time for breakfast."

"As if we would let you have any!"

"Still I'm surprised to find you here Naruto-kun, never mind Sasuke-kun making breakfast for you. And for you to accept it when it isn't ramen? My, something interesting must have happened these past few days." Kakashi said in such a gleeful manner that it was actually quite frightening.

"Shut up!"

"Hm." Sasuke turned away to ensure no one could see the sudden blush that had rose upon his cheeks.

"Well, I don't want to intrude any longer, so I'll be on my way." he said, standing up.

"Next time, use the door!"

"My, my, you say that like it's your house. If it's Sasuke-kun's, why get so upset?" his sensei asked, curiously in his usual apathetic tone.

"I…I don't care. It's just manners!" the blond defended.

"To be lectured on manners by my most unruly student, I will definitely have to rethink the way I act." he said, placing his hand on his chin thoughtfully. "Well, we'll resume training the day after tomorrow. Oh, and Sasuke-kun?"

"Wh-What?" he mumbled still turned the other way so they couldn't see his cheeks.

"Keep training with Naruto. It will help the both of you in the end." And with a puff of smoke, he was gone.

"What an idiot, barging into someone's house like that!" complained Naruto.

"Sounds like something you would do." the raven-haired boy retorted, taking a sip of his tea. "In fact, haven't you done it several times within the past couple of days?"

"Hey, that was different!"

"Excuses, excuses."

"Bastard!" Sasuke had to try his hardest not to smile, as the other boy went off on a rant. Naruto was so defensive, and although he would never admit it out loud, he did enjoy seeing his teammate getting riled up about something he said.

"Do you want a shower?" Sasuke asked suddenly, interrupting the shorter boy.

Naruto, blinked, confused. "Uh, sure.

"I'll go grab some towels." He said, getting up.

"Uh, Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks a lot for breakfast. It was…good."

"It…" He paused for a moment. "It's the least I can do." Quickly he hurried off to find some towels, hoping to rid himself of the strange sensation forming in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

Naruto let out a sigh of contentment as he felt the warm water run against his skin. It felt like forever since he last had a shower, or one that he could enjoy anyway. Kakashi's sudden appearance had surprised him, and for some reason also annoyed him. Though, he supposed he should be happy that they would resume normal training in a couple of days and he could finally see Sakura again. Yet, strangely enough, the pink haired girl hadn't been on his mind much lately. Well, he had been busy with Sasuke after all...

Once dried and dressed he wandered around to find Sasuke in one of the sitting rooms, a mass of scrolls laid out before him.

"What're you doing?"

"Reading obviously." The other boy replied matter-of-factly.

"I know that! I mean what are you reading?"

"Just some old scrolls. I figured I'd better make up for the past few days. Maybe see if I can learn some new techniques."

Naruto blinked, surprised in how open his team-mate was being. Usually asking Sasuke what he was doing was the equivalent of getting blood out of a stone.

"Can I see one?"

Sasuke handed him one without glancing up from the scroll he was reading. Naruto frowned when he discovered how long the one he had just been handed was. Although it was because of reading he was able to learn and master the Kage bushin no jutsu, he really hated reading, much preferring to be shown a technique and practicing from the start without constantly looking back and forward to some scroll to make sure you did every step correctly. As Shikamaru would say, it was way too troublesome.

Ten minutes or so passed when out of the blue, Sasuke finally spoke. "You can leave if you want. You don't have to force yourself to stay here. I know this sort of thing is pretty boring for you."

"Huh?" Naruto looked up from skim reading through the long and monotonous words before him. "I'm fine. I don't mind reading once in awhile. And I'm not forcing myself. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to."

"And here, I thought this would be the very last place you would ever want to be." Sasuke whispered quietly to himself.

Kakashi's words kept ringing in his ears.

_My, something interesting must have happened these past few days. _

_Oh, and Sasuke-kun? Keep training with Naruto. It will help the both of you in the end._

He repressed a sigh. What the hell had Kakashi meant by that? And what was with that stupid grin that he couldn't really see but knew was there behind the material covering his mouth? He really pissed him off.

Could it be that when he wasn't training with Sakura, he was spying on them? No, it couldn't be. He was just being stupidly paranoid that was all. There was no way Kakashi would waste his free time on them when he could be reading those stupid books of his.

Still, there was no telling with-

Mentally he slapped himself. _"Get a grip! Focus! You can't afford to waste anymore time!" _

Before he even realised, an hour and a half had passed. Stretching he sat up and glanced over to Naruto to find the boy looking half ready to pass out from complete and utter boredom. He didn't get why Naruto didn't just go home already or go off and train on his own at least. Not that he wanted him to leave.

Did he still think that he was going to run off and leave Konoha? Firstly, what would be the point? With his current strength he didn't have a chance in hell hunting down and killing Itachi. Would he ever? Abruptly he shook his head. No. He couldn't go back to that way of thinking. He had to be… He sighed. As corny and pathetic as it sounded, he had to be positive.

"Naruto."

The blond boy jumped slightly. "Huh? What? I wasn't sleeping I swear!"

Sasuke let out an irritated sigh, although he wasn't actually annoyed at all. "I'm sure. I…I was going to do some shuriken practice out in the garden, and was wondering if you wanted to join me?"

"Hell yeah!" the shorted boy yelled excitedly, practically leaping up.

No wonder he didn't do well at the academy, Sasuke thought, smirking somewhat. Naruto couldn't even study for an hour never mind an entire class.

"Hey, are you coming or what?" Naruto cried, already outside the room.

"Yeah. Yeah."

Sasuke led Naruto to the usual spot in the Uchiha mansion's huge garden were he normally trained. Not that Naruto hadn't been there before, it was the same spot he had found Sasuke unconscious from exhaustion.

The raven-haired boy flinched when he arrived and found all the shuriken and kunai from the other day lying randomly on the grass. Just how out of it could he have been? Some of the weapons where so far away from their targets that one would think that a blind, drunk man with no shinobi training at all had thrown them. He had to resist the urge to whack his palm of his forehead. Thankfully, his team-mate didn't say anything and as it turned out Naruto had already started picking up the discarded shuriken without him even noticing.

"Here." said the other boy, handing him one.

Without saying anything, Sasuke took it, and positioning himself, threw it at the closest target board. It hit right in the middle, and he felt a mild satisfaction come over him. Tossing a few more, he was pleased to find that he still had some precision at least. Naruto on the other hand wasn't quite as gifted when it came to accuracy and missed several times before actually hitting the intended point.

_"At least I'm still better than him at something." _he thought, at the back of his mind, throwing a kunai this time.

After a few hours of weapon practice, they stopped for lunch, and upon Naruto's insistence, had some of the ramen he had brought over from the other day.

"Ah, ramen, I missed you _so _much!" said the blond boy, taking a huge slurp of noodles. Sasuke on the other hand was a lot more refrained when eating his.

"Nah, Sasuke! Act like you're enjoying the ramen at least!"

"But I'm not. It's just food."

"Ah, that's why you're so boring! You have to learn to enjoy the small things in life more."

"Is that so?" he replied, indifferently.

Naruto let out a huge groan of frustration. "Man, I really don't see why Sakura-chan is so hung up on you! I'm way more interesting!"

Sasuke turned away, trying to hide the brief flash of emotion that had appeared upon his face after hearing his other team-mate's name.

"Sakura… You must really miss her." It was more of a statement than an actual question.

"Of course I do. But I'll see her the day after tomorrow, so it's fine." he replied, in between slurps.

He really didn't get Naruto at times. Sometimes the boy was so obvious that you couldn't help but feel embarrassed for him, and then there were times when he just couldn't figure him out at all; like now for instance. If Sasuke gave up and quite Team 7, not only could he claim to have beaten his rival as he often referred to him as, but woo Sakura to his hearts content without any worry of her attention turning to him as it always did. But no, Naruto didn't want that. He wanted to be with Sakura that was clear. But for that to happen, things would have to change, and apparently that was something Naruto didn't want.

Inwardly he sighed. Naruto really was one of those people who wanted everything. Not because he was greedy, but because he had this naïve notion that everything would turn out alright; that everyone could be happy. But that was impossible. One person's happiness was another's sorrow; one person's wish was another's nightmare. Sasuke knew this all too well.

The only way for him to experience so-called happiness and finally be with Sakura was to forget about him; to cut him out of his life completely. And yet here the idiot was, trying to save him.

"Ne, Sasuke, you okay? You look pale. Ah, I mean paler than usual." Naruto pointed out worriedly.

"I'm fine." he replied, standing up. "Let's get back to training."

"Eh? But you haven't finished your ramen!"

"I'm fine."

Blue eyes watched him sadly as Sasuke picked up his kunai pack and resumed training, shutting out everything else around him.

Naruto sighed to himself. "Liar."

**Author's Notes: **Thank you for reading! And thank you lots to everyone who has reviewed! The next chapter definitely shouldn't take as long to get out. Or I hope at the very least.

As usual, constructive criticism and advice on how I could improve are greatly appreciated.


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